Empire Air Lines
US airline (1944–1952) that merged into West Coast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Empire Air Lines was a United States local service carrier that was founded in July 1944 by Bert Zimmerly at Lewiston, Idaho.[1] The founder had formerly been operating Zimmerly Airlines, a commercial charter service that had been operating since 1943.[1] Empire was inactive until early in 1946, when it purchased the assets of Zimmerly Airlines, including ten Boeing 247 aircraft.[1][2] Starting as an intrastate airline in Idaho, it operated daily round trip service between Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Pocatello, Idaho with four intermediate stops.[2] The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) granted temporary permission to the airline to offer interstate feeder lines between Spokane, Washington and locations in Idaho and eastern Oregon.[3][4]
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In 1952, the CAB approved the sale of Empire Air Lines to West Coast Airlines for about $500,000 (equivalent to $2,800,000 in 2025).[5]
Fleet
At the time of its merger with West Coast, Empire had a fleet of five DC-3s.[6]
